July 2006
Welcome To The Bronx Bobby & Cory
In case you have not heard yet, ESPN’s Jayson Stark is reporting the Yankees and Phillies have finally completed the deal. The Yankees didn’t have to give up Hughes or Tabita, which was good. But, I am not sure this trade was really that benefical.
First, the deal. The Yankees will welcome Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle for Yankee prospects Matt Smith, 2005 no.1 pick CJ Henry and another player to be named later. According to ESPN.com new sercices the Yankees are taking Abreu and are only expecting to how $22 million through 2007. Which is important because he is owed something like $16 million in an option year for 2008.
Now the catch. CJ Henry is a decent shortstop who was stuck behind A-Rod. Potentially you could have moved him to 2B or 3B. Realistically though he was shut out, but I think we could have gotten more in return for what he brings in. Matt Smith is 27 and at a point where he is either going to make it or not. Decent stuff for a releiver but expendable.
So what is the catch. Abreu has seriously declining power numbers which is not a good sign for any player. In 99 games so far he is 30 points below his batting average and only has 8 home runs. The good side is his on base percentage is strong and that is what the Yankees need. The issue though is Melky Cabrera. I like this kid and he has earned a spot on the roster. The problem is the outfield is now a little crowded when the Yankee MASH unit decides to send back our boys.
Damon is in center and will be for another year two more, but could move to right field. Abreu is a right fielder and well can’t move anywhere. Melky is best suited for left. Fine, but Matsui is a left fielder who can play center but not as good as left. Remember were up to 4 players now. Then there is Shef. Okay, we can drop his salary after the season and he has quicky become a non-factor with injuries and declining production. But , that makes 5 OF’s. Then you have Guiel who has done a good job as a Yankee and Crosby who has the talent, though hitting like **** this year, but is great defensively. That’s 7 players in the OF. We haven’t even mentioned Bernie who can play another year or some of the other young studs in the minors such as Thompson. Thats 9 players for 3 spots.
Use the DH? Yeah, but that is locked up in Giambi who can’t play first anymore becasue he can’t move and Williams who will be shut out of the outfield because he can’t move either. Though I would say both are dangerous with the bat still.
Worst case senerio our outfield for 2007 is Mastui, Damon and Abreu. That shuts out Melky who I think is the next Bernie. I would rather see Melky get playing time over Abreu and yes even Damon. Matsui give you 300% and that is always a good thing. So in reality we gave up a #1 draft pick for more headaches in the outfield.
The secret for this deal will be Cory Lidle who has all the talent in the word, despite so so numbers. In New York I think he can be a good #4 starter and is far better than Wright, Pavano and Ponson. Which btw, brings up the question who is either dropped, traded or moved to long relief? Wright or Ponson? Tough choice, because both are talented and can pitch and both have ****** and get rocked two out of three times for no reason. Ponson has far less time on the DL, throws harder and can pitch past 5 innings assuming he dosen’t give up 8 runs first. Wright isn’t batteling addiction issues, maturity issues and has had better games recently than Ponson. Both are not worthy of a 5th spot but because Pavano is Mr. zillion dollar no show, were stuck with it. I say, drop both dissapointments and bring up Steven Wright from AAA who has shown some real talent.
In the end, the trade is what it is. The media will call it a blockbuster while in reality its a dud and changes nothing with the exception the Yankees might actually have a better back end of the rotation pitcher than they have had thus far this year. But, blockbuster? Not!
Yankee Player Rankings
Everybody loves rankings. How often do we see team player rankings outside of prospects being listed? Never! So, on a weekly basis, I have decided to announce my Weekly Yankee Player Rankings for the current season. Without further delay, here is the First Ever Yankee Player Rankings… by me anyway 
July 17-July 23rd
10. J. Giambi - Despite a .208 BA and a .296 OBP, it seems weird to have him in the top 10. However, unfortunately, there were others who had worse performances last week.
9. N. Green – The rookie only got 10 at bats, but picked up five hits, three of which were doubles and he got a walk. He also did a respectable job in the field. At least somebody showed up to play last week.
8. M. Rivera – A little low for the greatst reliever of all time, but in 3.1 innings he gave up 4 hits and a run which was a homerun. Not a bad week, but we expect better.
7. S. Proctor - Went through a rough stretch but was golden last week pitching 4.2 innings, picked up 9 K’s, only allowed 2 hits, no walks and most importantly ZERO runs.
6. C. Wang – Not the strongest week for him but he did give us 13 innings, won both of his starts and only yielded 6 runs despite giving up 17 hits.
5. M. Cabrera – Quickly becoming one of my favorite players and in my opinion a good candiate for ROY. Despite only batting .259 for the week, he did get 7 hits, including a homerun, scored 5 runs and stole 3 bases. Not bad rookie.
4. J. Damon – Quietly had a .321 AVE and a solid .375 OPB. Damon picked up 9 hits, 3 RBI’s and 3 walks and I believe is battling injuries too boot. Tough kid!
3. D. Jeter – Another solid week for Jeter. .346 AVE to go with a .393 OPB Jeter also collected 9 hits and 2 stolen bases.
2. R. Johnson – Finally, a true Randy performance and we needed it too. Despite getting the loss Johnson gave us 8 innings only 2 earned runs and collected 11 k’s to only one walk. He shoulda won the game if we could have gotten a couple key hits.
1. J. Posada – Excluding the past balls, Posada was on fire last week at the plate. His AVE and OBP was a strong .391 including a nice .696 SLG. Possida had 9 hits, of which 2 were doubles, 1 triple and 1 homerun. He had 4 RBI’s and 16 total bases collected which is 6 more than any other Yankee last week. And for that, he gets the number one ranking.
Duds of the week
S. Ponson – started okay then got clobbered. Walked away 0-1 with a 10.00 era giving up 10 earned runs in only 9 innings. OUCH!
M. Cairo – batting .167 and a pathetic .200 OBP during 18 trips to the plate. For al that work he knocked out 3 total hits. Why on earth is he still starting? They are playing Cairo at 2B and Green is doing better. So give Green the starting job let Cairo collect splinters.
K. Wilson – okay he is a rookie, but he won’t be staying with the big boys long if he continues his 12.27 era from giving up 5 earned runs, 3 of which were homeruns in only 3.2 innings. Yeah, it was that bad.
J. Wright – Sooner or later the medicore outings were going to hurt and it happened last week. In 2.2 innings write gave up 7 hits and 5 runs getting a football scoring 16.87 era. DOUBLE OUCH!
A-Rod – Hate to do it, but a .154 AVE is not good and the 9 K’s really hurts and this dosen’t even touch the 5 errors. He has been much better this year than people give him credit for, but last week was rough. I feel for the guy, so please lay off him, let him find his groove and we all will greatly benefit in the end.
GO YANKEES!
Ladies and gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, And The Battle For The Soul of A City by Jonathan Mahler. Whew! Long title, but what a great book. My wife got this book for me and my first thought oh great, she bought me an anti-Yankee book. I was pleasently suprised when it wasn’t anti-Yankee in the least. Instead, Jonathan Mahler takes us not only into the locker room of the 1977 New York Yankees, but provides a great backdrop of a story about life in baseball, New York and good ol’ USA period. Reading this book is like reading five different stories, all going on at the same time. You would think it could get a little confusing, however, Mahler does a tremendous job of weaving through each story while still bringing it back to the Yankees.
For me, The Bronx is Burning hits on all my favorite subjects. First, it touches on the New York Yankees. People forget, but 1977 is the first year Reggie Jackson played ball for the Yankees. He was at the time, the first player to make it big on the newly established free agency concept and good ol’ George Steinbrenner make Reggie a very rich man in the process. This also happens to be the year when an 8 year old kid in Iowa (me), fell in love with the Yankees and has been a die-hard fan ever since.
While I don’t remember much about 1977, I do remember how my facination with the Yankees became bigger and bigger. Thurman Munson was my favorite player. Tough, talented and the team captain. He and many of the other Yankees were not big fans of the out landish Jackson. Mahler gives you an in-depth look into this world, from Munson’s disapproval over Jackson’s actions, to Jackson feeling like an outcast, to Jackson’s teamates feeling underpaid. Moreover, the story is about Jackson and his need to be accepted conflicting with a fiesty little manager with a pit bull mentality in Billy Martin who battled alcohol, depression and feeling inferior. Of course this dosen’t even bring in the Boss and the influences he wields in the locker room without having to be present.
Strangly enough, The Bronx is Burning is a story about how a team who seemed to be ripping appart somehow comes along and wins the World Series. Mahler even provides details of how Jackson and Munson almost came to blows in the locker room, the famous fight on national television between Jackson and Martin in the Yankee dugout. Even more telling is how Martin lived every day wondering if he was even going to be manager the next day, in particular during one stretch where it seemed the Yankees lost more than they were winning and nobody was getting along. It’s an amazing story.
It is also a reflection of New York City, America and the world in 1977. The Yankees were a microcosom of a much larger picture, which brings me to my other favorite subjects, history, politics and social interactions. New York City was in a transition stage, dealing with massive debt, union issues, a very heated political race that boarders on almost too strange to be real. The charactors were all built as if out of a novel rather than real life. Mahler brings to life the intense, brutal and wild political battle for mayor of New York. In particular two names who we would get to know more about in the years following 1977 with Koch and Cumo. But, what a story it is to watch these two and others get into it.
To top it off, you have some guy named Rupert Murdoch coming into the scene and turning the media world upside down the sensationalist reporting of all the bad things about New York. You get an indepth look into how Murdoch began to build his media power house and his attempts to change the face of news reporting. This is no more greatly enhanced when during the summer months the Son of Sam serial killings were going on. So in all the crazyness going on, New York is dealing with a serial killer and Mahler gives you insight into the investigation of the killings and how it began to effect New York and its people.
And just as you think nothing more can go on, Mahler does a fantastic job detailing the changing of neighborhoods from once the pride of one immigrant group after another to fall into crime, destuction and waste as high rise public housing became dominant. You get inside looks into the lives of those who watched their neighborhoods go from Leave It Too Beaver to gang ridden shells of a history long past. The story is also about areas revitalized as the art world took over and the rebuilding of areas long forgotten had begun. Areas once left for dead, rebuilt and showing a new spark for life. Even more than the changing of neighborhoods, Mahler talks about the *** community, drugs, the disco nightlife and other aspects of life in New York 1977.
However, despite all this, the key element of the book which really took me by suprise was the indepth look into the massive power outage that ended in riots, neighborhoods burning and rampent crime as the outage dragged on. The story is facinating and you get a moment by moment detail from when the first hint of a problem began, to the fight to prevent impending disaster, to the disaster becoming a reality followed by riots, arson, crime, and the police reponse which makes any incidents today look rather tame. The story behind the power outage is downright mind bending and I was completely taken in by the details.
It was a wild 1977. There are elements of this book to make you sit back and laugh. Things like that don’t happen today. We talk about roids in baseball and yet Mahler talks about a pitcher who threw a perfect game while high as a kite on LSD and dosen’t even remember playing the game. Beer was in the dugouts, DURING GAMES! Imagine A-Rod knocking a 450 foot shot into upper deck coming in and chugging a cold one. You can’t! But, that was life in 1977. I was 8 and my world consisted of little league, baseball cards, riding my bike and living in quiet calm Iowa. I had no clue what kind of crazyness was going on then. Though I new the Yankees were my team and they had quite the personality. It was one of the reasons why I liked them so much. Each player seemed larger than life, a story behind the story.
Which, is why I like this book so much. You get the complete picture from Mahler. Nothing is left out and I greatly enjoyed how all these seemingly seperate events somehow, in some strange confluence of universal connection, infuenced each of the other events. A world intertwined by the reality of the time, closely bundled into a tremendous book.
Even if your not a Yankee fan, the other stories are worth reading for their sure enjoyment. I highly recommend this book and by my grade I give it an A+. So do not delay, pick up a copy of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning by Jonathan Mahhler today.
CONGRATS TO A-ROD
With one swing of the bat A-Rod not only becomes the fastest player to reach 450 home runs, but he also collected his 2000th hit. An achievment many players would love for their careers and to think A-rod still has many years to go.
The guy A-rod beat to become the fastest 450 HR guy, his former Seattle teamate Ken Griffey Jr. Junior was well on his way to his 32 birthday when he accomplished the feat. A-Rod dosen’t turn 31 until next Thursday. Amazing!
What is even more shocking is, assuming injuries don’t become a problem, A-Rod has a tremendous change to crush Hammerin Hank’s or if it happens Barry Bonds homerun record. There is no reason to think why he couldn’t do it
Few in the game can match what A-Rod has accomplished in his career thus far. The only players who may even begin to challenge what A-Rod has done would be Albert Pujols in every faucet and maybe Adam Dunn in only the HR category. As we all know Dunn hits in the low .200′s and strikes out enough times to complete a roster during the season. So in essense Pujols is really the only other player I can imagine at this time, who could challenge A-Rod feat for feat. But, I still believe A-Rod will go down as the greatest player in modern baseball history. Yes, even more than my favorite Babe Ruth, but only because of the difference between baseball era’s.
On another note:
Derek Jeter is having a carear year. I was looking at his stats last night and he already has picked up 121 hits this year. His career season high was 214 and I see no reason why this is not something Jeter could do.
Now I know people are saying, "Jeter isn’t hitting homeruns". Big deal. What would you rather have. Jeter batting around .340 with a league lead challenging on base percentage or Jeter hitting .290 but knocking in an extra 10 homeruns? While I love the long ball, in the past couple of years our Yankees have become a little do dependent upon the long ball to win games. Having Jeter hit for average, getting on base and wrecking havoc on the opponents is far more important than wanting him to hit an extra 10 homeruns. Without using Roids Jeter is simply not a 25-30 homerun kind of guy. So, I am of the opinion his greatest worth to the Yankees is what he is doing right now. Getting hits, getting on base, and wrecking havoc on the basepaths. So forget the homeruns, Jeter is having a great year and in my opinion a real shot at the MVP, though I am sure he will be shafted in the end.
Finally…
I can’t believe we lost two games to Toronto. Okay, Thursday night was a close game and a game made for a guy Wells, Glaus, etc to win with a walk off homerun. Good players do that. However, Friday’s game was more embarrasing and hard to swallow. Jeret Wright was never "in" the game and the offense was weak yesterday, showing a lack of patience at the plate. I fully expect Wang to have a great game today and the Yankees should be able to knock some runs in against former Yankee Ted Lilly. Either way, our offensive needs to be patient and work the pitches, which is our greatest strength. Too many strikeouts in the past couple of games and that means they are shooting for the fences. My advice, KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY! Go out and play the small ball, work the pitches and score some runs. Similar to the game against the White Sox when we had four bunts in one game. Now that is what I am talking about.‘
Okay really the final finally…
I understand giving players a day off and the Yankees are suffering through some injuries. However, my only complaint is were not giving guys enough time to settle in. What I mean is, guys like Phillips, Crosby and Green. Put Crosby in Right, Phillips at first, Greed at second and have Giambi DH. These are younger players with a ton of talent. But, starting one night, sitting the next, pinch hitting the following, dose not give these guys an opportunity to get comfortable at the plate. Migue Cairo and Aaron Guiel are bench players at best, so leave them as bench players. Give the younger more talented players the chance to strut their stuff. It works. How do I know? Look at Cano and Cabrera. When given the full-time job they have excelled and continue to learn the game, improving their skills. Its easier to do when you play everyday instead of coming off the bench here and there. We ain’t got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
And as always GO YANKEES!
Bring Out The Brooms
YES! It may only be three days into the second half, but our amazing Yankees just put the sweep on the White Sox. Who would have thunk it in the media world huh. Remember in my previous post we Yankee fans were suppose to be ready for the demise our Yankees. With this nice little three game sweep the media can take their biased view and shove it right along with the hot dogs, coke and peanuts.
First lets all congradulate the greatest Reliever of all time Mr. Mariano Rivera on his 400th career save. 
Whenever the game is on the line I will take Rivera over anybody else. Today’s game saw him pitch two innings, using only 26 total pitches to earn his save. When people talk about the great closers, its rare you hear them mention how Rivera often goes 2 innings in a day when closers are lucky to see more than one. Since were fortunate to have Mariano on our team, I wonder what its like to be the opponent when you see him coming to the mound. I think they might be saying, "good grief, how are we suppose to win now".
What is more impressive is how few people mention that Rivera came up as a starter, struggled a bit and then became the setup man for John Wettland. I remember watching during those years thinking how lucky we are when he becomes a closer. So my hats off to Rivera on another great performance and obtaining his 400th save. WOW! 
Now back to the sweep this weekend. The Yankees performed well, as a team. In looking at the numbers, there was no one player who stood out from the rest. It was a total team effort up and down the line up. The Yanks as a team batted just a hair under .330 for the series including nine doubles, five home runs, twenty-six runs and collected 12 walks. In fact, every player who picked up the bat this weekend walks away from the series with at least two hits. A-Rod lead the team with five followed by Jeter and Cabrera getting four each.
Every player the Yankees brought up to the plate picked up at least one RBI. Jeter, Williams and Phillips all picked up four RBI’s over the weekend while Giambi and A-Rod collected three each. What I think was even more impressive is the homeruns. Yes the Yankees had five dingers this weekend. A-Rod collected his 20th, but the others were hit by Jeter (ave this year not power) followed by Crosby, Guiel and Phillips. If your not a big follower of the Yankees you might say who? Ironic a team loaded with power hitters had guys nobody knows about hit the majority of the homeruns this weekend. Now that is a team folks.
The pitching was decent, not fantastic, but no where as bad as the "experts" want us to believe. Over the weekend Moose picked up his 11th win on route to what he deserves; a WS ring and the CY Young award. As a unit, the pitching staff picked up 15 strikeouts and only allowed four walks. Our starters game up only three runs each in their outings which isn’t bad, though we could really use Wright to go more than 6 innings for once.
The relief core was fairly solid. Farnsworth gave up a homerun. In typical Farnsworth fashion he was hit an miss. Great one game, bad in another. Rivera gave up a couple of runs in his first game, but shut down the Sox today while pitching two innings. Myers, Proctor and Villone threw a combined four innings, gave up five hits, no walks, no runs and two K’s, both by Proctor.
And what is even better is the small fact the normally offensively inept A’s took our the Red Sox 3 games to 1 by posting some big scores. Going into the weekend we were three games out. Today were only 1/2 game. GREAT JOB YANKEES. Now its time to take this run and keep it going.
And once again, CONGRATS TO RIVERA ON NUMBER 400
Can We Smack The “Experts”?
Okay, I don’t have much time tonight, but I gotta get one thing of my chest and I don’t mean one of my 5 chest hairs either. The thing is, I have been reading all the sites, ESPN, foxsports, CNNSI, cbssportsline etc and everybody is saying the Yankees are virtually washed up this year. Nope no playoffs for the Yankees. Were done, finished, not a chance in h… e… double hockey sticks.
The "experts" say the White Sox and Tigers have it all wrapped up with the division winner and wild card. Yep, nobody is gonna beat them. The "experts" say Boston is just too darn good now for the Yankees to keep pace because somehow the young Rookie Lester was called up to plug a gaping hole at the end of the rotation. Unfortunately, the Yankees don’t play in the west, because that division would make the Royals practically look tough. So yep, we Yankee fans just have to sit back and suffer for the rest of the year because the "experts" called it. Were out as of July 13th, 2006.
Ah, but wont it be nice when the Yankees win the 2006 World Series. Too bad we can’t throw pinstripped cream pies into all the "experts" faces and laugh. One team can suffer the amount of injuries the Yankees have had and still be 14 games over .500 and 3 games in back of Boston even after Boston won a zillion in a row? Lets take Thome, Dye and Piezen(or however ya spell his name) and put them on the DL and see how well the White Sox will perform. Or better yet, lets remove Bonderman, I-Rod and former Yankee Thames from the Tigers and see where they would be? And even more evil but yet fun, take Ortiz, Manny and Loretta away from Boston and see them keep swimming?
Yeah, none of them would be anywhere close to what the Yankees have done. That’s my point. We can only get healthier and as we do, were going to become more and more unstoppable. The Yankees are fighters and we still have the talent to pull this thing out. I have no fear because I have faith in our Yankees. There is magic in the air and the Yankees will win it all in 2006. Mark my words.
On a side note, just why are the experts not talking about Melky Cabera as a potential ROY? He is 21 years old and has performed beautifully for the Yankees. This kid is special and not only has he provided an offensive spark, but has played great defence. Remember him taking the HR from Manny. That’s a star waiting to happen my friends. To me, I vote Melky for ROY!
Finally, two more tid bits. Cano is due to come back soon and I am willing to bet he has a tremendous 2nd half. Also, we signed Ponson to finish out the year for us. Not a bad pick up if you think about it. Now, goal number one is to keep him outta the bars after games. Goal number two, keep him from fighting others and goal number three, hope he finds his form from 2003.
And with that my friends, here is too a great 2nd half. Have no fear, the YANKEES ARE HERE!!!
5 Step All-Star Improvements
As the 77th All-Star game near the end **come on AL, lets go already** the annual debate about the validity of the game continues. Not to mention the usual arugments over who should or should not be in the game. In the past couple of years I have noticed there has been little debate over the "aging" player getting in because of their past and not current years. Remember Cal Ripken and others?
I like the All-Star game for what it is, which is an exhibition game between some of the best players. In recent years allowing player picks, has in my mind help even things out a little from the fans and manager selections. But, it dosen’t mean the game is pointless nor does it mean it can’t use a little pick-me-up as well. Thus, in my effort to make the All-Star game, um, more exciting, here are my Top 5 All-Star Improvement Steps.
5. Let the fans pick 3 pitchers. Somehow we trust the fans to pick all the position players except for the pitchers. Why? For as long as I can remember, this has been the case and its never been explained that I know of. Now, I can grant we don’t want a guy who starts on Sunday, having to play on Tuesday. But, is that a good excuse to not let the fans vote? If it were the case, maybe snubs such as Lirano, Mussina, Maddux, Clemens and others would not hurt as much. Its the fans choice isn’t it?
4. Increase the roster size. Naturally we don’t want to diminish the idea that the All-Star game should about the best players in the game. Its what we want. But, there is no reason why the roster can’t be increased to include 2 position players and 3 pitchers not currently allowed. If either league can’t say they could place another 5 players on the roster who warrant the spot, then there are bigger problems in baseball and All-Star game can ever fix. Plus, it can also eliminate the whole my pitcher pitched on sunday and he can’t play story. Nothing wrong with coming in for a batter because you have the extra pitchers now to do so. Remember its the best players, not the best players minus the best pitchers who pitched too close to the All-Star game.
3. Eliminate the one manager filling out the roster and let all the league managers vote. This elminates complaints of favoritism of one manager and allows the men who face all the league players to decide. It would be interesting to see who would get voted on by 14 AL managers or 16 NL managers. We let the Fans vote. We let the Players vote. Why not the managers? Maybe you might see an Omar Vizquel get a nod when the managers around the league say, he deserves the spot. Which this year, you can almost make a case for.
2. Instead of winning team getting home field advantage in the World Series, make the losing team have to wear bright pink uniforms the following year. Now here is an idea. With the last few dominating WS by the AL which aren’t even going 5 games anymore, lets use a little punishment as the motovating factor. Can you imagine Pedro Martinez having to wear a bright pink uniform next year. Players will play their hearts out to avoid wearing pink. Trust me.
1. Suspend games for one full week and have a best of 3 All-Star week. Now this could be fun. Three parks, three games. This solves a couple of issues. First, you get a 3 game set. Even if the AL wins the first two games, the third could be a motivator for the NL to win and save face. Second, non all-stars get a much needed rest to heal and prepare for the second half of the season. Third, struggling teams can try and regroup during the week off. I like this idea because it makes sence.
So there it is, my 5 step program to All-Star success. Of course I could include nude mud wrestling with the players wives, or a gladiator type of situation where if a player strikes out they have to run from lions. You could even have the players play the best all beer drinker softball team. But, more or less somebody might complain about them ideas. So I kept it simple. 5 easy steps.
Btw. AL wins 3-2. Ya think the NL will just give up the all-star game for good?
Chicago Bandits Dominating Again
With a solid 2-1 win over the Akron Racers the Chicago Bandits begun to demonstrate they are clearly the team to beat in the 2006 NPF softball season. In case you didn’t know, last year the Akron Racers upset the Bandits in the Championship putting an unfortunate end to a very magical first season for the Bandits. With the win tonight Chicago improved
their record to 14-3, while Akron slid into third place with an 13-8 record.
(Series currently in the Bandits favor 3 games to 0.)
So who are the Chicago Bandits? Since this is my first post on here about them, how about a quick history lesson. Last year the Chicago Bandits played their first season in the NPF (National Pro Fastpitch) Women’s Softball league. The Bandits lead by superstar Jennie Finch had a magical season, dominating series after series. Unfortunately, they lost the Championship to a very talented and dangerous Akron team.
This year the Bandits owner guarenteed a championship this year or the first game of 2007 would be free. So far things are looking pretty good despite Finch coming back from the birth of her son Ace, some injuries and lately Jennie Finch and 3B Vicky Galindo joining Team USA the past couple of weekends. 
But, talent still abounds. On July 1st Pitcher Gina Oaks pitched a perfect game against the Michigan Ice. Other solid performers for the Bandits have been Catcher Selena Collins, Jaime Clark, Trina Peel, Mackenzie Vandergeest Jessica Sallinger and Amy Harre.
However, the league is full of Team USA players and former college standouts such as power hitter Oli Keohohou, Crystl Bustos, Jessica Merchant and Catalina Morris. Of course we can forget steller pitchers such as Christa Williams, Jocelyn Forest, Serena Settlemier and U. of Texas star Cat Osterman.
Seven teams this year are competting against not only each other but against Team USA, the USA World University Team, Team Venezuela, Michigan Ice (potentially joining the league next year), and Chinese Taipei. Last year China, Austrailia and Canada competed against the teams of the NPF. And if you think these international teams are easy wins, Chinese Taipei has been able to pull out some wins with amazing defense and key hitting. Team Venezuela have also been quite competitive as well.
The games are exciting and you get to see the worlds best softball players competiting four games a week. For more information I recommend visiting the NPF website at www.profastpitch.com or for more information on the Chicago Bandits you can goto www.chicagobandits.com.
Good Grief Yankees
So I am out having a nice evening with the wife and I come home to see our beloved Yankees losing to the Indians 19-1. Was Charlie Brown pitching today, I mean come on, 19-1? We give up 21 hits and are only able to get 9 against the Indians staff? As for A-Rod, he accumulated 3 of the 9 hits, including a double. At least one player decided to play tonight. Okay, maybe Jeter tagged along with A-Rod as he picked up a hit to maintain his .341 batting average. What is worse is the left on base mark. 22 Yankees were stranded tonight… yes that is right 22. One look at some of the players in the line-up tonight and you might see why…
Miguel Cairo (.229 AVE/.283 OPB/.288 SLG) Okay he can play nearly every position. But he is nothing more than a defensive replacement, not one you want to count on to knock in runs.
Kelly Stinnett (.222 AVE/.273 OPB/.306 SLG) Back up catcher, the horrible offensive output is almost excusable and considering Posada had an error and two passed balls tonight maybe the move was warranted. But, still Stinnett left two players stranded.
Bubba Crosby (.217 AVE/.277 OPB/.283 SLG) Another pinch hitter/CF replacement tonight. Now, don’t get me wrong I like Crosby, but unless he is getting to play full time in order to get into a hitting grove, he is not going to hit otherwise.
Andy Phillips (.259 AVE/.288 OPB/.435 SLG) Andy is another talented player I like, but he is struggling at the moment, partly due to not getting to play everyday. Tonight he went 0 and 4 leaving 4 Yankees on base. Either let him play full-time or find another true pinch hitter.
Miguel Cabrera (.261 AVE/.345 OPB/.344 SLG) Now Miguel is a good prospect with a bright future and is worthy to keep in the lineup and can get on base. However, he is not yet an RBI guy. At 21, you cannot expect him to be.
Kevin Reese (.417 AVE/.500 OPB/.417 SLG) Another young prospect who got a hit tonight. But, were baking on a 28 year old prospect who has played a total of 12 MLB games. Not a good sign, but at least he is doing something.
Nick Green (.104 AVE/.246 OPB/.167 SLG) A 28 year old player with 226 MLB games under his belt. Career lifetime average is .244 with only a .311 on base percentage. Left three men on base tonight. Again, not the type of player we expect.
So those are the players playing in the lineup tonight. Together they went 3 for 20 or a .150 batting average. More importantly they left 14 of the 22 Yankees stranded on base.
Of course we haven’t even talked about the pitching which blew up tonight. Though I am not as worried about the pitching as I am the offense. Before tonight the pitching staff had a 4.23 era, which is pretty good for the AL. Of course Johnson has struggled a few times and Wright in my opinion is still working back from his injury last year. Chacon who I have always liked is a serious concern though, he does not appear to have the same stuff this year as in the past and one has to wonder if when his confidence gets hit, if he can overcome the hit. The bullpen has been a saving grace and we have been lucky to see some good young talent show some stuff this year. But they are seriously over worked again. Proctor is showing signs of his arm getting tired and can you blame him. In his first full season this year he has already pitched in 41 games for 53 innings. At this rate he would by the end of the season be in 82 games for 106 innings which is a huge workload for today’s reliever. Not even to mention the fact he is in his first full season, meaning his arm hasn’t had the opportunity to development the stamina needed to be on that kind of pace.
What does all this mean. As much as I would hate to admit it, we need to get some fresh blood in the clubhouse. Right now our best prospects are at AA or lower. Secondly, under no circumstances do we trade away Phillip Hughes who everybody is going to want. But, I think there are still some nice options out there.
What we need is a solid Right Fielder, Starter and a second basemen who can produce until Cano is ready and then fill in at other positions. To do this, here are some following options I have seen listed lately in terms of players on the potential trading block:
Scott Williamson RP Cubs
Phil Nevin IN/OF Cubs
Todd Walker 2B/IN Cubs
Greg Maddux SP Cubs
Juan Pierre OF Cubs
Alfonso Soriano OF/2B Nationals
Jose Guillen OF Nationals
Livan Hernandez SP Nationals
Bobby Abreu OF Phillies
Tom Gordon OF Phillies
Eric Byrnes OF Diamondbacks
Jason Schmidt SP Giants
Okay, so not every name listed there are worth even trying for namely Guillen who couldn’t hit the broad side of the barn and Williamson because we really don’t need another RP with a questionable track record. Soriano who we would love, but at what price? Its not worth giving up Phillip Hughes and Soriano is going to cost big bucks.
The question marks would be Greg Maddux SP because of his age and playing in the American league getting pounded, Livan Hernandez SP his arm is finally showing signs of falling off and Bobby Abreu who would be nice, but the cost might be too much.
This leaves us with the following options and in the majority of the cases the player will be a FA at the end of the year, so lets not over pay. But, I feel these are the best shots for a deal and who could help the team.
Phil Nevin – Struggling this year, but historically has a decent track record. He is better than Cairo and like Cairo can play just about any spot, but primarily first, third and right field.
Todd Walker – Decent batting average and gets on base. No power, but can play both 2B and right field and even pitch in at first base. Plus seeing him punish the Red Sox would be a treat.
Juan Pierre – A FA at the end of the year who was a 200 hits guy his first three seasons and then has falling off the map in 05 and this year. Tremendous speed, decent power. Could play at CF, moving Damon to Right Field which he is really better suited for at this time in his carear. Issue would be the FA status at the end of the year and cost.
Tom Gordon – Yeah, the rumors are there. The Phillies may make moves if their season dosen’t turn around. Gordon is doing quite well right now. But, 1) would he want to go back to the set-up role for the yankees and 2) you have Farnsworth and Dotel (coming soon) both of whom are good set-up guys and have closing experience. Though, having Farnsworth and Dotel handing the ball off to Gordon before giving it to Rivera is a nice thought. To keep Gordon’s arm fresh you can rotate these guys around a bit.
Eric Byrnes – I think this might be the best deal and rumors from cbssportsline.com say talks have been on going. Due to the depth of the Diamondbacks system, Byrnes could be moved at a reasonable cost. I also think he would be a nice fit into the Yankee system right now.
Jason Schmidt – The biggest issues come down to, 1) cost to get him, 2) injury concern 3) FA at the end of the year going back to no. 1 cost. Schmidt would be a great addition to the rotation with Mussina, Johnson and Wang. Schmidt is also looking good this year and his era is below 4 again, so the injury concern is not as big as it was last year. Plus the Giants need to unload cash and some of their grandpa players. Keep an eye on this one.
And so there you have it. Hopefully, this is a fluke. I don’t think we need a lot and we should be quite proud of the fact despite some
very painful injury issues were still in the hunt. This is a good team, but we need a little more umph to the line-up.
1st Half Awards
With the first half of the season nearly over, why not take a look at the mid-season awards for the Yankees of 2006. We would have to admit it has been a very interesting 2006 thus far into the season. Tonight the Yankees are giving a royal spanking to the Mets 16-6 as we write this very article. A-Rod with two homeruns so far in my opinion has definately earned his pin stripes, so for the detractors, give the guy a break. Baring a complete meltdown the Yankees should enter Monday at 46-33. Now, some might complain this isn’t good enough and being a loyal Yankee I too would expect a 79-0 record at the moment. But, let take a look at a couple of things…
1. Given the Red Sox hot streak recently, being only 4 games back is nothing for our Yankees. In fact the Red Sox should be ashamed of themselves for the fact they haven’t been able to take advantaged of the injuries the Yankees have had. This of course leads us to point number two.
2. How many teams can suffer the kind of injuries we have had so far and yet be 13 games over .500? Not many. Look at the Cubs, they lose Lee and all **** breaks lose. The Red Sox whine because they were a couple pitchers short, yeah, but try losing Ortiz, Rameriz, Loretta and a couple of pitchers and lets see how they perform then?
3. The young players have been tremendous, give Cashman and Torre a couple pats on the back for staying with these guys.
So all in all, I think were looking pretty good for the second half and it should be a lot of fun. First, however, lets award some first half awards:
MVP: Derek Jeter - He has been unstoppable. Batting .334 going into Sunday’s game with 98 hits and a great .425 OBP. Jeter is having a career year and is the glue behind the Yankees success despite injuries and illness.
Others to note: Giambi – A-Rod – Cano
CY Young: Mike Mussina – For a guy people say has gotten old, he is sure been a great fixture for the Yankees this year. So far he has accumulated a 9-3 record and a 3.17 ERA. He is clearly having one of his best years. More importantly his K to BB ratio is 104 to 22, which is a great sign. Each week the media says this is the week we should see Moose come back to earth and each week he gets stronger. Lets all hope he gets his 20 wins for the first time in his career this year.
Others to note: Chang Wang – Mariano Rivera
Rolaids Relief : Scott Proctor – Okay Rivera would be the easy pick, but the young Proctor has been the godsend for the bullpen this year. Despite a few rough outings recently, you have to admit he has done a fantastic job coming in for Torre.
Others to note: Matt Smith – Mariano Rivera – Ron Villone
ROY: Melky Cabera – No one is mentioning his name for AL Rookie of the Year… YET but look at his numbers .262 BA, .347 OBP, 21 K’s to only 16 BB’s and has been playing great defense. This kid is in my opinon the next Bernie Williams and he has earned his place on the roster. Melky is going to be a Yankee for a long long time.
Others to note: Matt Smith – Andy Phillips
Clutch Player of The Year: Jason Giambi - Folks Giambi is back. Batting .268 with a .626 slugging percentage Giambi has knocked in 24 homeruns and has 63 RBI’s so far. I suspect he is only getting warmed up as well. Another key thing to remember, he drives pitchers counts up and gets on base the most, leading the Yankees with a .430 OBP.
Others to note: Derek Jeter – Alex Rodriguez – Mike Mussina
Comeback Player of The Year: Bernie Williams - Can there be any other option here. A guy who many predicted would fade into retirement has been a huge factor this year for the Yankees covering in the outfield and producing with the bat. May not be the Williams of old, but his performance is better than 75% of the others in the league right now.
Others to note: Mike Mussina – Melky Cabera
Biggest Suprise of The Year: Robinson Cano - Listen to all the "experts" they all said the same thing. Barely average second basemen, won’t keep hitting like he did in 2005. Well, Cano has been making some great plays this year and his hitting is better than 2005. Hitting .325 with a .353 OBP. Cano before the injury was leading the Yankees in doubles at 17and has connected for 88 hits so far. Cano is a gem and good thing he is a Yankee.
Others to note: Chang Wang – Melky Cabera – Scott Proctor
Finally, what players might make their names known in the second half???
Andy Phillips
Nick Green
Kevin Thompson
Matt Smith
Colter Bean
They all may get their shots and I think you are going to see some nice performances. In particular I really like Matt Smith and Colter Bean, two guys in the bullpen who are young and very talented.
With that lets hope we continue to get healthy and take out them Red Sox. This is a great team. Like I said, who can take the hits we have this year and still be 13 games over .500 at this point. Watch out MLB the Yankees are BACK!!!
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